Guide to Assess a Commercial Product’s Sustainability

As more companies and consumers seek to reduce and report on their environmental footprint, vendors are responding with claims of environmentally sustainable products. Assessing the environmental sustainability of a product is complex and claims are difficult to ascertain without knowing the underlying assumptions and standards upon which they are made. This guide explains international standards for product environmental labels and declarations that help with product assessments. We then discuss how to read a product’s environmental declaration document that helps quantify its sustainability performance. Finally, we provide guidance for how to accurately assess the environmental sustainability of similar products, providing confidence that your buying decisions are in fact reducing your organization’s environmental footprint.